In less than two weeks, we will be holding our next webinar: “When the Basics No Longer Work, What’s Next?” If you are struggling with workplace campaigns, how to explain what United Way does, and/or are tired of partner agencies feeling entitled to funding, then this webinar is for you. We will talk about how what used to work for United Ways no longer works so well, and more importantly, what United Ways should be doing now. This webinar will show you how your United Way can be more relevant, sustainable, and impactful in the future.

“When the Basics No Longer Work, What’s Next?” is the next webinar in our series of nine webinars we will be presenting monthly between now through next July. Our webinar topics include: engaging your board, using social media successfully, effective affinity groups, connecting with the younger generation, designing campaign brochures, and what donors want from United Way. Click here for a complete list and description of all nine webinars.

You have two weeks to sign up for “When the Basics No Longer Work, What’s Next?”, which will be held on Wednesday, December 19th. If you can’t join us for the live webinar, we will be recording the webinar which will also be available for purchase.

Two promises for you.

First, we promise you that every one of our webinars will provide you with information your United Way can use and put to work immediately. Following our “Six Methods to Maximize Your Impact” webinar last week, we received an email from an attendee who said: “Great webinar yesterday. It was very informative!”

Second, we promise you that our webinars will be your most productive training investment as you can have everyone at your United Way watch our webinars – staff, board, and volunteers. Additionally, your United Way will have access to the recording of the webinar for one year.

We look forward to having you join us for “When the Basics No Longer Work, What’s Next?” on Wednesday, December 19th and for all of our upcoming webinars.

P.S. As a reward to people who read the P.S., if you send me an email at Gary@perspectives4uw.com, I will send you a promo code you can use to save on our webinars!

Gary and I headed back from Green Bay, Wisconsin last night after attending the 2017 Great Rivers Conference. It was a wonderful conference and we enjoyed meeting with United Ways from across the Midwest!

While we were at the conference, we presented two sessions and had a lot of great discussions with United Ways about how we can guide them in transforming to an issue focus.

During our first session, "Positioning Your United Way for 2020: What You Must Plan & Start Doing Today," we started by talking about the common communication, resource development, and impact challenges facing United Ways across the country. We then asked United Ways to think about the important question of why their United Way exists and whether they are fundraising-focused or issue-focused. Finally, we discussed the strategies being used by progressive United Ways, such as various issue investment methods, donor-centric methods, and creating a call to action.

Our second session, "Effectively Communicate on Social Media," focused on what people want to know from your United Way and how to use social media effectively, based on our research with United Way donors and community members across the country. We shared examples of how to inform and engage your donors and community members, and attendees had discussions about best practices and ideas for using social media effectively.

We are so glad we had the opportunity to connect with so many wonderful people while attending the conference, and look forward to working with some of you in the near future!

Are you thanking your donors and encouraging them to give this holiday season?

United Way of Greater Augusta (Staunton, VA) sent out an e-newsletter just before Thanksgiving, thanking their donors and encouraging them to give this #GivingTuesday. Their e-newsletter was simple and to-the-point, and the two sections of the e-newsletter each focused on a specific issue.

In the “Thanks” section of the e-newsletter, United Way of Greater Augusta wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and thanked their donors for supporting their United Way. They explained how they were able to help community members obtain financial stability with their support.

In the “Giving” section of the e-newsletter, United Way of Greater Augusta explained that they were participating in #GivingTuesday to raise money for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, an initiative which encourages reading and promotes childhood literacy. They explained that the program sends a child a book once a month and currently there is a waiting list for kids in the community to receive books. United Way of Greater Augusta encouraged people to sponsor a child for $30 to help the children on the waiting list receive books.

United Way of Greater Augusta did a great job focusing on one issue while thanking donors, and one issue while encouraging people to give. People will be more likely to remember what your United Way does, and will be more likely to donate, if you communicate a simple and focused message, just as United Way of Greater Augusta did in their e-newsletter.